Edit and Share Images with Skitch and MySkitch

A lot of applications let you take screenshots and edit, manage, upload, and share them, but not all are as feature-rich as Skitch. The Jing Project comes to mind as a competitor in this space, but Skitch came to the party first, and although the application is still in private beta, it's looking like a winner. I had the privilege of trying out the beta of Skitch: Its integrated screen-capture and image-editing tools and one-click image sharing through MySkitch (a social image-sharing Web site) left me impressed.

Honestly, I'm surprised Skitch is still in private beta. The application is well polished and is incredibly easy to use. Granted, Skitch is Macintosh-only at the moment (developers are promising a Windows beta soon), but the integration between the MySkitch Web tools and the Skitch desktop application is seamless and simple, and the wealth of image-editing tools on the desktop make the app ready for prime time, in my book.

Installing the app is simple--as easy as installing any other Macintosh program. On Skitch's first launch, a short video plays that explains how to use the program and how to view the video again if you need a quick tutorial at any point. When I opened Skitch for the first time, I had the feeling there were a lot of tools in a very small application window. It's not overwhelming, though; each tool has a tooltip, and most of them are self -explanatory anyway. Image resizing, adding text, changing text or background colors, adding shapes, figures, lines, and more are all available with one click on the border of the window.

Skitch also easily allows you to take screenshots; with one click you get a set of crosshairs that allows you to select entire windows or click-and-drag to select a portion of the screen to capture. The Skitch window disappears into the background when you click to take a snapshot so it doesn't get in the way of your content, and you can even set a countdown timer for your screenshot. The screenshot you take is instantly cropped and opened in the Skitch editor so you can edit or upload it to your MySkitch account. Additionally, because Skitch is Mac only, you can take advantage of your built-in iSight camera. If you click the Cam button, iSight activates, and you can take your own photo (with countdown and simulated "flash").

For more advanced tools that go beyond average use, you can click on the tools icon to bring down a menu with more options. The majority of tools that most people would use to spice up or edit their images are easily available straight from the app window, though; there's no need to go diving for the functions that you need. You can type in your image's file name right in the Save bar at the bottom, and pull down the file type menu to select the type of image you want. Skitch defaults to JPG format (for easy Web uploading; I'll get to that in a moment), but you can select PNG, PDF, or the Skitch proprietary format, which apparently is useful only when you're passing images between Skitch users.

Next to the same bar is the Share button, which immediately uploads whatever image you're working with inside of Skitch to your MySkitch page. MySkitch is a social image-sharing service that comes with every Skitch beta account; when you get into the beta, you not only get to use the application but you also get storage at MySkitch to share and save your images. MySkitch is somewhat bare; you can upload your images and share them using the embed code provided with each image, but that's about it. You can comment on your images, but there doesn't seem to be a way to network with friends yet and comment on each other's photos. You get a custom gallery URL that you'll be able to share with friends in the future, but currently MySkitch allows only image owners to view their uploaded images. In fact, MySkitch might be what's holding up the closed beta--the functionality there is limited, and the amount of storage that each user will ultimately have to store and share images is in question.

Skitch and MySkitch are a great combination, and I was really pleased with how robust the desktop application was. The Web app leaves a bit to be desired, but I can see a number of Skitch users saving their images locally and uploading them to a photo host of their choice, like Flickr or SmugMug. MySkitch doesn't really offer much at the moment, but if the service adds functionality like image sharing, galleries, and networking with friends, it might be a better complement to an already exceptional screengrabbing and image-editing tool.

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